Sick chick holding head back

[weirdmuse]

I have a 9 week old barred rock pullet that has a rattle in her breathing and is stretching so that her head touches her back. She is very weak and won't eat or drink and doesn't move well. This morning she had a bit of a rasp to her breathing but she was eating well, went outside for a while and readily ate some scratch feed from my hand as well as had several good drinks of clean fresh water. What could be wrong with her and what would be the best way to treat her?

Update... while I was posting this, my wife came in to tell me that the pullet had died. Any ideas on what the problem could have been and how to prevent it in my other chickens?

 

[CarriBrown]

:aww I'm sorry.
I had a pullet die in my arms (RIP Nugget

) and right before she died, she had several seizures and was breathing the same way you describe. That may explain why her neck and head were that way.
Really, the only way to tell is a necropsy. Sometimes they just die for reasons we can't avoid- birth defects, for example. Doesn't make it any easier, but I doubt you did anything wrong.
How are the others acting?

 

[weirdmuse]

The others seem to be fine with the exception of a cochin pullet which has just a bit of a wheeze. I've been treating her with Vet Rx and it seems to be working. Thank you .

 

[CarriBrown]

OK, good. The Vet Rx works really well and dabs under each wing, on the head and nose and a bit in the beak will help that pullet breathe easy.

 

[weirdmuse]

What are your thoughts on putting the cochin on an antibiotic?

 

[Guinea Goonie]

Look for signs of Gape. You can do a search on this disease. Some say they actually see the worms in the throat. The condition is called gapeworm. Generally though the chicken will shake its head. The chicken may also have aspirated something. They generally die very quickly when this happens. Remember the old wive tale of the chickens that went out in the rain and held their head up with their mouths open. I hear this CRAP all the time from my mother in law. Sometimes I just want to hold her and shake her back to sanity. I have about 90 chickens and when it rains they ALL GO OUT AND PLAY. I have not had ONE drowning.

 

[weirdmuse]

Thanks, rimshoes! I'm going to worm them just as a general health practice. Do you know of any natural wormers?